Western Egg Muffins

I found this idea online, and made my own variation of it. I'm sure it's something some people have been doing for years, but it's a new idea for me, and it is definitely something I will make again.

10 large eggs
1/2 cup each of diced onion, green pepper, mushrooms and ham
1/2 cup shredded cheese (I used marble)
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Spray muffin tin with cooking spray.

2. Dice onion, green pepper, mushrooms and ham, and sauté in oil or margarine for about five minutes, until starting to get soft.

3. Break 10 eggs into a medium sized bowl and scramble. Add shredded cheese and sautéed veggies/meat, salt and pepper and mix well.

4. Pour mixture into muffin tins, about 3/4 full.

5. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from tin to cool. Makes 12 "muffins".

These muffins can apparently be stored in the fridge or freezer for up to one week. Make sure to cool thoroughly, for at least 30 minutes, before putting into fridge or freezer. To reheat, just pop them in the microwave for a minute, but not too long, or they will go rubbery.

You can, of course, use whatever you want in the eggs. I just went with my standard "western" ingredients, but they would be good with other ingredients as well.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

I have been itching to make sweet and sour meatballs for a couple of weeks now, so yesterday, I called up my mother and asked for her recipe. Made them tonight for us and a couple of our friends who we had invited for supper. The only one who wasn't a fan was Charlie, but that's because he's not a huge fan of beef (never has been). I will say, though, like everything else, he gave it a try (two bites) before deciding he didn't like them. Anyway, I will post the original recipe, but I doubled everything for tonight's meal as I was feeding more than just a couple of people.

1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 lb ground beef
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup ketchup
2 tbsp mustard
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1 tbsp corn starch

Mix onion, ground beef and Worcestershire sauce. Roll into 1-inch balls and place on a broiler pan. Broil for 2 minutes each side.

Mix ketchup, mustard, brown sugar, pineapple juice and corn starch in a pot and bring just to a boil.

Add meatballs to sauce and simmer for 1 hour.

Alex's Pork Chops

Alex makes pork chops that are like ribs. It's the only way we eat them these days. So simple and so good.

Pork chops (we usually have pork loin chops, but whatever kind works)
Salt
Brown sugar

Sprinkle both sides of each chop with salt, then rub them with brown sugar. Arrange pork chops on a wire rack in a pan lined with tin foil. Bake in a 350F oven for 1 hour 30 minutes (45 minutes per side).

Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins

We were getting sick of banana or carrot muffins. So I looked up recipes for oatmeal muffins (preferably oatmeal WITH something else) and came across this recipe. Decided to give it a try tonight and they are quite yummy. They taste like apple crisp in muffin form, if that makes sense. They haven't passed Charlie's taste test yet, as he's in bed, but Alex and I like them.

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour (I used all purpose because I don't buy whole wheat flour, ever)
1 1/4 cups oats
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup buttermilk (recipe called for low-fat, but I couldn't get that, so I used regular)
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tbsp canola oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup raisins (optional...and I hate raisins so I left them out)

Preheat oven to 400F.

Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper cases or spray with a nonstick cooking spray

In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In a medium bowl, combine applesauce, buttermilk, sugar, oil and egg. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add applesauce mixture. Stir until just moist. If putting raisins, fold them in at this point. Spoon evenly into muffin cups.

Bake 16-18 minutes.